Power semiconductor component with plate capacitor structure having an edge plate electrically connected to source or drain potential

ABSTRACT

A lateral power semiconductor component has a front side, a rear side and a lateral edge. The component further includes a drift zone of a first conductivity type, a source zone of the first conductivity type, a body zone of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type, and a drain zone of the first conductivity type. A gate forms a MOS structure with the drift zone, the source zone and the body zone. A horizontally extending field plate above each semiconductor region of the power semiconductor component forms a plate capacitor structure with an edge plate lying under the field plate. The edge plate includes a highly doped semiconductor material and is electrically connected to one of a source potential and a drain potential of the power semiconductor component.

PRIORITY

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/382,838 filed 11 May 2006, which claims priority from German PatentApplication No. DE 10 2005 023 026.1 filed 13 May 2005, both of saidapplications incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to power semiconductor components having a frontside, a rear side and a lateral edge.

BACKGROUND

A power semiconductor component is formed for example as a verticalpower transistor with compensation pillars. Such a power semiconductorcomponent contains a semiconductor body having at least one drift zoneof the first conductivity type, a multiplicity of source zones of thefirst conductivity type, a drain zone of the first conductivity type anda multiplicity of body zones of the second conductivity type.

Such a vertical power transistor furthermore contains at least one gatewhich forms a MOS structure with a drift zone, a source zone and with abody zone. It contains compensation pillars of the second conductivitytype which are in electrical contact with the source zones and whichproject into the drift zone from above. An edge termination is situatedbetween the edge and the MOS structure. The edge is at the samepotential as the drift zone, so that the edge termination reducesvoltage between the edge and the source zones. Such a vertical powertransistor is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 6,630,698.

A power semiconductor component may also be fashioned with field ringsas a vertical power semiconductor component. Such a component contains asemiconductor body having at least one drift zone of the firstconductivity type, a multiplicity of source zones of the firstconductivity type, a multiplicity of body zones of the secondconductivity type and a drain zone of the first conductivity type. Thevertical power semiconductor component furthermore contains at least onegate which forms a MOS structure with a drift zone, a source zone andwith a body zone. An edge termination having a multiplicity of fieldrings of the second conductivity type is situated between the edge andthe MOS structure. The field rings enclose MOS structures. The edge isat the same potential as the drift zone, so that the edge terminationreduces voltage between the edge and the source zone. Field rings areknown for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,028.

A power semiconductor component may also be formed as a lateral powersemiconductor component having a front side, a rear side, and a lateraledge. It contains on its front side at least one drift zone, a sourcezone and a drain zone, which are of the first conductivity type, and atleast one body zone of the second conductivity type. A gate is providedat the front side and forms a MOS structure with a drift zone, a sourcezone and a body zone. Such a lateral power semiconductor component isshown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,028.

Power semiconductor components are used inter alia for clockedswitched-mode power supplies. Modern power semiconductor componentsenable switching frequencies in the high kHz range (60 kHz or more).

This leads on the one hand to a significant reduction of the structuralvolume of the switched-mode power supply, but on the other hand also toincreased radiofrequency interference disturbances. In order to preventsuch radio frequency interference disturbances from being coupled intothe supply voltage network, minimum requirements are made of theelectromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of power supplies. Theradiofrequency interference disturbances that occur therefore can befiltered with a high outlay.

In this case, so-called power factor correctors can be used, which arealso known as power factor controlling (PFC). They are formed either asactive PFC circuits or as passive PFC circuits, depending on whetheractive or passive components are used.

In the case of passive PFC circuits, expensive filter components such ascapacitors and inductors are generally used in order to comply with thecorresponding standards for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).

Active PFC circuits are generally integrated circuits (ICs) containingactive components such as transistors and diodes. There are active PFCcircuits which are integrated together with a power semiconductorcomponent on a single IC. The active PFC circuits are accordinglycomplicated to produce and may require a space within the switched-modepower supply, which increases the overall costs for the power supply.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a vertical power semiconductor component may comprisefield rings. Such a component may comprise a front side, a rear sideand/or a lateral edge. It may comprise a semiconductor body comprising,e.g., a drift zone of a first conductivity type, a multiplicity ofsource zones of the first conductivity type, a multiplicity of bodyzones of a second conductivity type, and/or a drain zone.

It additionally may comprise at least one gate which forms a MOSstructure comprising, e.g., a drift zone, at least one source zoneand/or at least one body zone. The vertical semiconductor component maybe formed as a power MOSFET if, e.g., the drain zone is of a firstconductivity type. If, by contrast, the drain zone is of a secondconductivity, an IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) may result.

The source zone, the body zone and the gates may be situated at thefront side of the power semiconductor component, while the drain zonemay be provided at the rear side. The drift zone, e.g., may extendperpendicularly from the front side to the rear side of the powersemiconductor component.

Situated between the edge and the MOS structure may be an edgetermination having a multiplicity of field rings of the secondconductivity type. The field rings may enclose the MOS structures inthat they form rings around the MOS structures on the front side of thepower semiconductor component. The semiconductor regions of the edge canbe at the same potential as the drift zone. The edge termination mayserve for reducing the voltage between the semiconductor regions of theedge and those of the source zone. On the front side of the powersemiconductor component, a horizontally extending edge plate can besituated between the edge and the edge termination. Said edge plate canbe at the same potential as the drift zone.

A field plate may lie above the edge plate, the edge plate and the fieldplate forming a plate capacitor structure. The plate capacitor structuremay advantageously increase the output capacitance. As a result, therise in the drain-source voltage may be retarded and the interferencedisturbances caused by the switching of the power semiconductorcomponent may be reduced. Less complicated PFC circuits can be used forthe switched-mode power supplies. This may reduce the circuit complexityfor the PFC circuit and the clocked switched-mode power supplies.Hitherto unused regions of the vertical power semiconductor componentcan be advantageously used for the plate capacitor structure.

If the field plate is connected to a potential that lies between thevalue of the source potential and the value of the drain potential andis tapped off in the edge termination, the capacitance of the capacitorstructure may have an effect only when the power semiconductor componentis switched off. The rise in the drain-source voltage may initially takeplace rapidly and slow down toward the end of the switch-off operation.The time for turning off the power semiconductor component thus mayremain short overall and the radiofrequency interference disturbances,which occur only toward the end of the switch-off operation, cannevertheless be reduced. If the field plate is connected to a field ringof the edge termination, the field plate can be put at a potentialhaving a different voltage than the voltage of the edge plate. In thiscase, it can be advantageous that no additional circuits are necessaryto connect the field plate to a potential that differs from thepotential of the edge plate.

In this context, edge or lateral edge is also understood to mean aregion which does not lie on the exterior of a power semiconductorcomponent but which is separated from all the MOS structures by edgeterminations. Even in those regions which may also lie in the center ofthe chip it can be possible to provide plate capacitor structures bymeans of field plates and edge plates.

In a further embodiment, an upper conductive layer can be provided abovethe field plate. Said layer can be insulated from the field plate bymeans of an insulation layer and can be electrically connected to thedrain electrode. The capacitance of the plate capacitor structure can beincreased by virtue of this additional layer. Given the same thicknessand the same material of the insulation layers, the capacitance can bedoubled in comparison with a plate capacitor structure without an upperconductive layer.

If the upper conductive layer comprises metal or metal alloys, theresistance of the upper conductive layer can be low. This reduces thetime constant of the plate capacitor structure, as a result of which theplate capacitor structure can be switched on particularly rapidly.

In a further embodiment, the field plate can be connected to a fieldring in the center of the edge termination. In the off-state case, thefield plate can thus be at a potential between the source potential andthe drain potential. A field ring lies in the center of the edgetermination if in each case approximately the same number of field ringsis provided between it and the edge and also between it and the MOSstructures.

In another embodiment, a vertical power semiconductor component maycomprise compensation pillars. It may comprise a front side, a rear sideand a lateral edge. Here and hereinafter the front side of the componentis assumed to be situated at the top and its rear side is assumed to besituated at the bottom.

The power semiconductor component may comprise a semiconductor bodycomprising a drift zone of the first conductivity type, a multiplicityof source zones of the first conductivity type, a multiplicity of bodyzones of the second conductivity type, and a drain zone.

The source zone, the body zone and the gates can be situated at thefront side of the power semiconductor component, while the drain zonecan be provided at the rear side. The drift zone may extendperpendicularly from the front side to the rear side of the powersemiconductor component.

The conductivity type can be either n if the free charge carriers areelectrons in an n-doped region, or p if the holes in p-doped regionsconstitute the free charge carriers.

Situated on the front side of the power semiconductor component can beat least one gate which forms a MOS structure comprising, e.g., a driftzone, with at least one source zone and at least one body zone. Uponcorresponding driving, that is to say upon application of a specificvoltage, the gate may provide for a conductive channel within the bodyzone between a source zone and a drift zone. The vertical powersemiconductor component may comprise compensation pillars of the secondconductivity type, which are in electrical contact with the sourcezones. Said compensation pillars may project into the drift zone fromabove. As soon as the voltage at the gate falls below a specificthreshold, the MOS transistor may turn off. A high voltage may bepresent between the drift zone and the other semiconductor regions. Inthis case, the compensation pillars can ensure that compensatingopposite charges in the compensation pillars are made available to thecharge carriers in the drift zone. The vertical power semiconductorcomponent described may form a superjunction MOS transistor.

An edge termination can be situated between the MOS structure and theedge. The edge termination may comprise for example edge terminationpillars of a second conductivity type and/or field rings of a secondconductivity type. Edge termination pillars can be structures of thesecond conductivity type which project into the drift zoneperpendicularly from above.

The edge of the power semiconductor component can be at the samepotential as the drift zone. The edge termination thus may reducevoltage between the edge and the source zones. If the edge terminationcontains edge termination pillars, the voltage from the edge inwardlyfrom edge termination pillar to edge termination pillar, in which casepotential differences may also occur within the pillars.

Situated at the front side of the vertical power semiconductor componentcan be a horizontally oriented edge plate which is at the same potentialas the drift zone. The edge plate typically may comprise a metallicmaterial or a doped semiconductor material. The edge plate may form aplate capacitor structure with a field plate lying above it, said fieldplate likewise being horizontally oriented. The insulation layer betweenthe field plate and the edge plate is made of silicon dioxide, forexample. The capacitance of this plate capacitor structure can bedependent on the area of overlap between field plate and edge plate, onthe thickness of the insulation layer between field plate and edgeplate, and on the relative permittivity of the insulation layer betweenthe field plate and the edge plate.

The drain-source capacitance can be advantageously increased by virtueof the provision of the plate capacitor structure. The rise in thedrain-source voltage can be retarded and the radiofrequency interferencedisturbance caused by the switching of the power semiconductor componentcan be drastically reduced. As a result, it is possible to use lesscomplicated PFC circuits for the switched-mode power supplies. This mayhave the effect of reducing the circuit complexity for the PFC circuitand for the clocked switched-mode power supplies. The structural volumeof the switched-mode power supplies can also be reduced.

The plate capacitor structure may extend over regions which are not usedfor MOS structures. These hitherto unused regions can advantageously beused, by virtue of the provision of the plate capacitor structure, toreduce the radiofrequency interference caused by the power semiconductorcomponent.

The rising edges of the drain voltage can particularly be steep in thecase of compensation components. Radiofrequency interferencedisturbances may occur to an increased extent as a result of the steeprising edges. In the case of compensation components, therefore, the useof the additional plate capacitor structure can particularly beadvantageous in order to prevent the occurrence of radiofrequencyinterference disturbances.

The drain-source capacitance can be referred to hereinafter as theoutput capacitance. The temporal profile of the drain-source voltage canbe set by virtue of the fact that in the off-state case, the field plateis at a potential that lies between the potential of the drift zone andthe potential of the source zone. Depending on the desired profile ofthe drain-source voltage, the field plate may be connected to apotential that is either closer to the potential of the drift zone orcloser to the potential of the source zone.

By virtue of the field plate being connected to one of the edgetermination pillars of the edge termination, the field plate can bedirectly connected to a potential having a different voltage than thevoltage of the edge plate. In this case, it can be advantageous that nocircuitry outlay is required outside the power semiconductor componentin order to connect the field plate. Moreover, the field plate can beconnected with low resistance in comparison with an external connection.The time constant of the plate capacitor structure can be reduced as aresult, so that the plate capacitor structure is switched on morerapidly.

If the edge termination pillar which is connected to the field platelies in the center of the edge termination, then in the off-state case,the field plate can be at the potential whose value lies between thevalue of the source potential and the value of the drain potential.

If the field plate is connected to a potential whose value lies betweenthe value of the source potential and the value of the drain potential,the capacitance of the capacitor structure may have an effect only whenthe power semiconductor component is switched off. The rise in thedrain-source voltage may initially take place rapidly and slow downtoward the end of the switch-off operation.

Such a profile of the drain-source voltage can be desired especially asthe radiofrequency interference disturbances occur principally at theend of the switch-off operation and a retardation of the rise can benecessary only at the end of the switch-off operation. The time requiredoverall for turning off the power semiconductor component still mayremain short in the case of the specified voltage profile and the radiofrequency interference disturbances are nevertheless reduced.

In a further embodiment, an upper conductive layer can be provided abovethe field plate. Said layer can be insulated from the field plate bymeans of an insulation layer and can be electrically connected to thedrain electrode. The capacitance of the plate capacitor structure can beincreased by virtue of this additional layer. Given the same thicknessand the same material of the insulation layers, the capacitance can bedoubled in comparison with a plate capacitor structure without an upperconductive layer.

The capacitance of the field plate can be increased by using a materialhaving a higher relative permittivity than Si0₂. In this case, such amaterial can be used for the insulation layer between the edge plate andthe field plate and/or for the insulation layer between the field plateand the overlying upper layer. Examples of materials having a highrelative permittivity can be Si₃N₄, Ti0₂, Hf0₂, Ta₂0₅, Al₂0₃ and AlN.

If the upper conductive layer comprises metal or metal alloys, theresistance of the upper conductive layer can be low. As a result, thetime constant of the plate capacitor structure is reduced, saidstructure thus can be rapidly switched off and on.

In a further embodiment, the field plate may comprise doped polysilicon.This may have the advantage that in the fabrication of the powersemiconductor component, the field plate can be produced at the sametime as the gates by means of the same process steps. The fabricationcomplexity can thereby be reduced.

If the edge plate comprises a semiconductor material and is of the sameconductivity type as the semiconductor material surrounding it and isdoped more highly than the semiconductor material surrounding it, it maynot be depleted in the off-state case. As a result, enough free chargecarriers may be still available to form a capacitor together with thefield plate. The use of the semiconductor material for the edge plateobviates an additional connection for the edge plate because it may beat the same potential as the semiconductor material surrounding it andmay be thus already connected.

The edge plate may form, at the edge of the component, the connection ofthe semiconductor regions toward the top if there are no lightly dopedsemiconductor regions situated between the edge plate and the insulationlayer lying above it. As a result, the distance between the plates ofthe plate capacitor structure can be reduced, whereby the capacitanceper area can be increased.

If the field plate partly lies above a region with edge terminationpillars or field rings of the edge termination, this region of the edgetermination can also be concomitantly used for increasing thecapacitance of the capacitor structure. In this region, although nocontribution may be made to the capacitance by the mutually oppositeplates edge plate and field plate, because the edge plate does notextend into this region, in this region the capacitance can benonetheless increased by the field plate and the upper conductive layerlying above it.

In another embodiment, a lateral power semiconductor component maycomprise a front side, a rear side and a lateral edge. It may compriseon a front side at least one drift zone, a source zone and a drain zoneof the first conductivity type and also a body zone of the secondconductivity type. At least one gate may form a MOS structure with adrift zone, a source zone and a body zone.

Above semiconductor regions of the lateral power semiconductorcomponent, a field plate extends horizontally in some regions of thepower semiconductor component. Said field plate may form a platecapacitor structure with an edge plate which lies under the field plateand may comprise a highly doped semiconductor material. In this case,the edge plate can be connected either to the source potential or to thedrain potential.

The plate capacitor structure may increase the output capacitance, as aresult of which the drain-source voltage rises more slowly, and theradiofrequency interference disturbances generated during the switchingof a lateral power semiconductor component may be reduced. Inswitched-mode power supplies, it is thus possible to use lesscomplicated PFC circuits, which reduces the circuit complexity for thePFC circuits used and the switched-mode power supplies. The structuralvolume of the switched-mode power supplies can also be reduced as aresult. In this case, the plate capacitor structure advantageously mayuse regions which cannot be used for the MOS structures.

If, in the off-state case, the field plate can be at a potential thatlies between the potential of the drain zone and the potential of thesource zone, the capacitance of the plate capacitor structure may havean effect only during the switching of the power semiconductorcomponent. The rise in the drain-source voltage initially may take placerapidly and slows down toward the end of the switch-off operation. As aresult, overall little time can be required for the turn-off, and theradiofrequency interference disturbances may nevertheless be reduced atthe end of the switch-off operation.

In one embodiment, the second semiconductor regions may comprise amultiplicity of compensation pillars which project into the drift zonefrom above. The field plate can thus be connected to a compensationpillar. As a result, the field plate can be directly connected to aregion which is at the potential of a compensation pillar and thus atthe potential of that region of the drift zone which may surround theconnected compensation pillar. In an advantageous manner, no additionalcircuitry outlay can be required outside the power semiconductorcomponent for this purpose. Moreover, the first field plate can beconnected with low resistance in comparison with an external connection.As a result, the plate capacitor structure rapidly may become effectiveif the power semiconductor component is switched.

If the compensation pillar connected to the field plate is situated inthe center of the compensation pillars, then in the off-state case, thefield plate can be at a potential whose value lies in the middle betweenthe source potential and the drain potential. A compensation pillar maylie in the center if further compensation pillars are situated bothbetween the compensation pillar and the edge and between thecompensation pillar and the MOS structures.

In a further embodiment, field rings can be situated at the edge. Inthis case, the field plate can be connected to one of the field rings atthe edge. The first capacitor plate can be preferably connected to acentral one of the field rings. As a result, in the off-state case, itcan be at a middle potential between source potential and drainpotential and thus only may become effective if the drain-source voltagehas already fallen below or exceeded a certain threshold.

In a further embodiment, an upper conductive layer can be provided abovethe field plate. Said layer can be insulated from the field plate bymeans of an insulation layer and can be electrically connected to theedge plate. The capacitance of the plate capacitor structure can beincreased by virtue of this additional layer. Given the same thicknessand the same material of the insulation layers above and below the uppercapacitor plate, the capacitance can be doubled in comparison with aplate capacitor structure without an upper conductive layer.

If the upper conductive layer comprises metal or metal alloys, theresistance of the upper conductive layer can be low. As a result, thetime constant of the plate capacitor structure can be advantageouslyreduced.

In a further embodiment, the field plate may comprise doped polysilicon.This may have the advantage that in the fabrication of the powersemiconductor component, the field plate may be produced at the sametime as the gates and by means of the same process steps. This mayreduce the fabrication complexity.

The edge plate preferably may comprise semiconductor material of thefirst conductivity type. As a result, it can be directly connected tothe drain zone, which is likewise of the first conductivity type.

If the power semiconductor component contains a plurality of platecapacitor structures lying one beside another, it is possible to achievea large capacitance of the capacitor structure without the electricalresistance within the field plates and edge plates slowing down theswitching of the capacitor structures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated in greater detail on the basis of exemplaryembodiments in the drawings.

FIG. 1 compares conventional and desired profiles of output capacitancesof power semiconductor components.

FIG. 2 shows the switch-off behavior of a power semiconductor componentwith a conventional output capacitance profile.

FIG. 3 shows the switch-off behavior of a power semiconductor componentwith a desired output capacitance profile.

FIG. 4 schematically shows a cross section through a vertical powersemiconductor component according to an embodiment with an increasedoutput capacitance.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of a vertical power semiconductorcomponent according to an embodiment with an increased outputcapacitance.

FIG. 6 schematically shows a lateral power semiconductor componentaccording to an embodiment in plan view.

FIG. 7 shows the schematic plan view of a lateral power semiconductorcomponent in a further embodiment.

FIG. 8 schematically shows the cross section through a lateral powersemiconductor component according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a lateral powersemiconductor component in cross section.

FIG. 10 shows the potential profile of a power semiconductor componentaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates the profile of the drain voltage when switching offa power semiconductor component according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The actual and desired profiles of output capacitances of powersemiconductor components are compared in FIG. 1. The area capacitance ofa power semiconductor component is plotted against the drain-sourcevoltage. The dashed line shows the profile of a conventional powersemiconductor component. It remains constant at the value C₁ over theentire range of the drain-source voltage.

The desired profile of a drain-source capacitance is depicted as a solidline having a “trough profile”. At low voltages it is at a value C₂,then falls to the lower value C₁ and remains at this value C₁ beforerising to the value C₂ again at higher drain-source voltages.

FIG. 2 shows the switch-off behavior of a power semiconductor componentwith a conventional output capacitance profile. A transistor is involvedhere. The drain-source voltage U_(DS) and the drain-source currentI_(DS) are plotted against time. When the transistor is switched off,the drain voltage initially rises slowly before rising steeply within ashort time of approximately 10 ns until it has reached the final valueof the drain-source voltage.

The switch-off behavior of a power semiconductor component with adesired output capacitance profile emerges from FIG. 3. For this anexternal capacitance of 2 nF was connected upon reaching a drain-sourcevoltage corresponding approximately to two thirds of the output value ofthe drain-source voltage. A “trough profile” of the output capacitanceis brought about as a result. The rise in the drain voltage takes placein a manner similar to that in FIG. 2, but the rise is retarded startingfrom a voltage of two thirds of the final value of the drain-sourcevoltage. The voltage thereupon still needs approximately 20 ns until ithas reached its final value.

A section through a power semiconductor component 1 according to anembodiment is shown schematically in FIG. 4. The semiconductor componentis formed as a vertical superjunction MOS transistor. The semiconductorcomponent 1 has a front side 2 and a rear side 3, the front side 2 beingsituated at the top and the rear side 3 being situated at the bottom.The semiconductor structures which form the transistor are shown on theleft. An edge termination 4 is provided on the right of thesemiconductor structures, and an outer region 5 and an edge 8 are joinedon the right of the edge termination 4.

A drift zone 9 made of weakly n-doped semiconductor material is situatedin the semiconductor structures which form the transistor. A drain zone10 comprising highly doped n⁺-type semiconductor material with ametallic drain electrode 11 is situated below said drift zone 9. MOSstructures 12 comprising p-doped body zones 13, n⁺-doped source zones 14and gates 15 are introduced above the drift zone 9. The body zones andthe source zones 14 are connected to the source electrode 16.

The gates 15 comprise doped polysilicon and are isolated from the sourceelectrode 16 and from the semiconductor regions of the drift zone 9, thebody zone 13 and the source zone 14 by means of the gate insulation 17,which comprises silicon oxide. The gates 15 are interconnected by meansof a common gate electrode, which is not shown here. Compensationpillars 19 made of p-doped material extend below the body zones 13.

If a voltage is applied to the gate electrode such that the voltagebetween source and gate 15 exceeds a threshold value, this may have theeffect that conductive channels 18 form in the body zones 13 between thesource zones and the drift zone 9. This results in a current flow fromthe source regions 14 to the drain region 10.

The structure described forms a power MOS transistor. As soon as athreshold value is undershot for the voltage at the gates 15 in theoff-state case, there is no longer a channel 18 between the drift zone 9and the source zones 14. However, a high voltage is present between thedrift zone 9 and the other semiconductor regions. In order to prevent anavalanche breakdown from occurring, the drift zone 9 is lightly doped.In addition, the compensation pillars 19 ensure that compensatingopposite charges are made available to the free charges in the driftzone 9, said free charges being determined by the magnitude of then-type doping. The compensation pillars 19 form together with then-doped regions of the drift zone 9 that surround them a so-calledsuperjunction structure.

The edge termination 4 comprises a plurality of p-doped pillars in thedrift zone 9, which are electrically insulated from one another andwhich are referred to as edge termination pillars 20. The uppertermination of the edge termination pillars 20 lies on the upper edge 25of the semiconductor body 27. The edge termination pillars 20 projectinto the drift zone 9, but they do not reach as far as the lower edge 23of the drift zone 9. They may, however, also project into the drift zone9 to an extent such that their lower end lies on the lower edge 23 ofthe drift zone 9. The edge termination pillars 20 provide for areduction of the voltage from the drift zone 9 at drain potential to theregions of the MOS structure 12.

An edge plate 6 made of heavily n-doped material is situated above thedrift zone 9 between the edge termination pillars 20 and the edge 8.Furthermore, a layer sequence comprising an insulation layer 24, a fieldplate 7, an insulation layer 26 and an upper conductive layer 21 issituated above the edge plate 6. The field plate 7 is connected to oneof the edge termination pillars 20 of the edge termination 4. The fieldplate does not quite reach as far as the edge 8, but rather terminatesbeforehand and is covered laterally by the insulation layer 24.Consequently, the upper conductive layer 21 extends, at the edge 8, downonto the edge plate 6, with which it forms an electrical contact. Inthis case, the insulation layer 24 is made thicker than the gate oxidelying below the gates 15.

The field plate 7 is connected to a central edge termination pillar 20.As a result, in the off-state case, the field plate 7 is at a potentialthat lies approximately in the middle between the drain potential andthe source potential.

The upper conductive layer 21 is isolated from the source electrode 16by an insulation region 22.

In this case, the field plate 7 forms a first plate of a plate capacitorstructure, the other plate of which is formed by the edge plate 6 andthe upper conductive layer 21.

The required area for this plate capacitor structure which is formed bythe field plate 7 and edge plate 6 can be calculated as follows. Givenan active area of a vertical power semiconductor component 1 of 21 mm²and a total area of approximately 26 mm², the output capacitance isapproximately 5 nF as soon as voltages of a few volts are present at theoutput. The intention is for the capacitance made available by the fieldplate 7 to be of the same order of magnitude. If the insulation layer 24essentially contains silicon dioxide and is 1 μm thick, an area of 14mm² may be required. If the plate capacitor is realized toward the topand toward the bottom, the area requirement can be reduced to 7 mm².

Therefore, the total chip area rises by less than 30%, especially ashitherto unused area portions are used for the capacitor structure.Since the ultimately annularly embodied capacitor structure may requireonly one additional phototechnology, the process costs are not increasedsignificantly. Consequently, the additional costs for the provision ofthe capacitor structure are likewise estimated to be lower than 30% ofthe costs for the power semiconductor component.

In order to achieve an area for the plate capacitor of 7 mm², acapacitance ring having a width of approximately 0.4 mm may be requiredgiven a chip extent of 18 mm (active area). Such a ring may have aresistance of 0.22 ohm, assuming a typical poly resistance of 10 ohm/sqin the case of superjunction transistors. Consequently, the capacitormay have time constants of at most 1 ns, which suffices in the case ofthe given rise times.

FIG. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of the semiconductor componentaccording to an embodiment, said component being illustratedschematically in section. FIG. 5 differs from FIG. 4 with regard to theedge termination. Structural parts having functions identical to thosein the previous figures are identified by the same reference symbols andare not discussed separately. The edge termination 4 contains fieldrings 28 of the second conductivity type, the top side of which lies onthe upper edge 25 of the semiconductor body 27. The field rings encloseMOS structures and protect the MOS structures against the highpotentials that prevail in the semiconductor regions at the edge 8 ofthe semiconductor body 27. In the off-state case, regions in the fieldrings and in the regions of the drift zones that surround them aredepleted, that is to say that the number of free charge carriers isgreatly reduced. In this case, the doping concentration of the fieldrings 28 dictates the size of the region within the field rings 28 whichis depleted, and the size of the depleted region of the drift zone 9 inthe vicinity of the field rings 28.

The field plate 7 is connected to a central field ring 28, so that, inthe off-state case, the field plate 7 is at a potential that liesapproximately in the middle between drain potential and sourcepotential.

A lateral power semiconductor component is shown in plan view in FIG. 6.It contains an edge 8, a drain zone 10, a drift zone 9 and a source zone14. The source zone 14 lies in the center of the semiconductor componentand is enclosed by the drift zone 9 and the drain zone 10. A capacitanceregion 39 is provided between the edge 8 and the drain zone.

FIG. 7 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a lateral powersemiconductor component in plan view. The vertical power semiconductorcomponent is delimited by an edge 8. A capacitance region 39 is situatedin the outer region 5. A source region 14, a drift path 9 and a drainzone 10 are provided in the inner region. In contrast to the exemplaryembodiment in FIG. 6, here the drain zone 10 is situated innerly and thesource zone 14 is situated outwardly.

FIG. 8 schematically shows a vertical power semiconductor componentaccording to an embodiment in cross section. It contains an outer region5 on the left, a region with a MOS structure 11 in the middle, and afurther outer region 5 on the right. The front side 2 is shown at thetop and the rear side 3 is shown at the bottom. The drift zone 9 extendsfrom the front side 2 of the lateral power semiconductor component 1 asfar as a rear-side source region 38. The drift zone 9 is of the firstconductivity type and weakly doped and the rear-side source zone 38 isof the second conductivity type. The MOS structure 11 contains drainzones 10 of the first conductivity type, source zones 14 of the secondconductivity type, a body zone 13 of the second conductivity type, andalso a gate 15 isolated from the semiconductor regions. The gate 15provides for a current flow from the source zones 14 through the bodyzone 13 and the drift zone 9 to the drain zones 10.

The drain zones 10 are connected via the drain contact 33 and the drainelectrodes 11. The source zones 14 are connected via the source contact34 and source electrodes 16.

Plate capacitor structures each having a field plate 7, an insulationlayer 24, an edge plate 6 are situated in the outer regions 5. Suchplate capacitor structures are provided for example in a capacitanceregion 39 as shown in FIG. 6 or 7. The edge plate 6 comprises highlydoped semiconductor material which is directly connected to the drainzone 10. The field plate 7 made of doped polysilicon extendshorizontally above the edge plate 6 and is insulated from the edge plate6 by means of the insulation region 24.

The field plate 7 is connected to the central one of the three fieldrings 28. An insulation layer 26 and also the upper conductive layer 21lie above the field plate 7. The upper conductive layer 21 increases thecapacitance between edge plate 6 and field plate 7.

In addition, a perpendicularly extending edge pillar 35 of the secondconductivity type is situated at the edge 8, said edge pillar being inelectrical contact with the rear-side source zone 38.

In the case of the exemplary embodiment shown here, the edge plate issituated between the MOS structure 12 and the field rings 28. Incontrast to this, in the vertical power semiconductor componentaccording to FIG. 5, the edge plate is provided between the field rings28 and the edge 8.

FIG. 9 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a lateral powersemiconductor component 1 according to an embodiment in cross section.In this case, two plate capacitor structures each comprising a fieldplate 7 and edge plate 8 are provided one beside the other in an outerregion 5. In this case, the edge plates 6 of the two adjacent platecapacitor structures are connected to one another and brought to thedrain potential by means of a metallic connection (not shown in FIG. 9).

In embodiments that are not shown here, further plate capacitorstructures and/or further MOS structures are provided between the outerregion 5 and the MOS structure 11.

FIG. 10 shows the potential profile of a vertical power semiconductorcomponent according to an embodiment. The regions are designated withthe potentials that they have in the off-state case.

The potential profiles for MOS structures 12 with an edge termination 4are situated on the left-hand side. The voltage reduction takes placefrom the drain, which is at a potential of 700 V, to the source zones14, which have a potential of 0 V. Situated in the right-hand region isa field plate 7 made of polysilicon, which is situated between an edgeplate 6 and an upper conductive layer 21. The field plate 7 is connectedvia a field ring 28 which is at 300 V to 400 V. Consequently, the fieldplate 7 is also at the potential of 300 V to 400 V. The region above thefield plate 7 is at 600 V to 700 V. Below the field plate 7, a potentialof 600 V to 700 V prevails in the regions which lie under the edge plate6, while the field rings 28 which lie below the field plate 7 and arenot connected to said field plate 7 are at lower potentials than thedrain potential.

The behavior of the drain voltage when switching off a vertical powersemiconductor component according to an embodiment is illustrated inFIG. 11. The drain voltage is plotted against time, a constant currentbeing assumed. The drain voltage rises rapidly up to approximately 250V, whereas the rise is retarded afterward. Consequently, the outputcapacitance is greater at higher drain voltages that at low drainvoltages. The effective capacitance calculated from the voltage rise andthe charging current essentially corresponds to the capacitance betweenthe field plate 7 and the drain.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lateral power semiconductor componentcomprising: a front side; a rear side; a lateral edge; an inner regionwith a MOS structure; an outer region interposed between the innerregion and the lateral edge; a drift zone of a first conductivity typeextending from the inner region into the outer region; a source zone ofthe first conductivity type disposed in the inner region; a body zone ofa second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type disposedin the inner region; a drain zone of the first conductivity typedisposed in the inner region; a gate which forms the MOS structure withthe drift zone, the source zone and the body zone; and a firsthorizontally extending field plate disposed above each semiconductorregion of the power semiconductor component in the outer region, thefirst field plate forming a first plate capacitor structure with a firstedge plate disposed under the first field plate in the outer region,wherein the first edge plate is a highly doped semiconductor materialspaced apart from the drain zone and electrically connected to one of asource potential and a drain potential of the power semiconductorcomponent.
 2. The lateral power semiconductor component as claimed inclaim 1, wherein in an off-state case, the first field plate is at apotential that lies between the drain potential and the sourcepotential.
 3. The lateral power semiconductor component as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising a plurality of compensation pillars at thelateral edge, wherein the field plate is connected to one of thecompensation pillars at the lateral edge.
 4. The lateral powersemiconductor component as claimed in claim 3, wherein the compensationpillar to which the field plate is connected is disposed in a center ofthe compensation pillars.
 5. The lateral power semiconductor componentas claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of field rings atin the outer region adjacent the lateral edge, wherein the first fieldplate is connected to one of the field rings at the lateral edge.
 6. Thelateral power semiconductor component as claimed in claim 5, wherein thefield ring to which the first field plate is connected is disposed in acenter of the field rings.
 7. The lateral power semiconductor componentas claimed in claim 1, further comprising an upper conductive layerelectrically connected to the first edge plate and disposed above thefirst field plate, wherein the first field plate is insulated from theupper conductive layer by an insulation layer between the first fieldplate and the upper conductive layer.
 8. The lateral power semiconductorcomponent as claimed in claim 7, wherein the upper conductive layercomprises a metal or a metal alloy.
 9. The lateral power semiconductorcomponent as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first field plate comprisesdoped polysilicon.
 10. The lateral power semiconductor component asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the first edge plate is of the firstconductivity type.
 11. The lateral power semiconductor component asclaimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of plate capacitorstructures disposed one beside another and each including at least onefield plate and an edge plate.
 12. The lateral power semiconductorcomponent as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second platecapacitor structure disposed in the outer region between the first platecapacitor structure and the inner region or between the lateral edge andthe first plate capacitor structure, the second plate capacitorstructure comprising a second field plate and a second edge plate, thesecond field plate horizontally extending over part of the second edgeplate, the second edge plate is a highly doped semiconductor region. 13.The lateral power semiconductor component as claimed in claim 12,wherein the first and second edge plates are connected to one another.14. The lateral power semiconductor component as claimed in claim 13,further comprising an upper conductive layer electrically connected tothe first and second edge plates and having a first region above thefirst field plate which extends horizontally toward the lateral edge anda second region disposed above the second field plate which extendshorizontally toward the drain zone, wherein the first and second fieldplates are insulated from the upper conductive layer by an insulationlayer.
 15. The lateral power semiconductor component as claimed in claim12, wherein the first field plate horizontally extends to over the firstedge plate in a direction oriented toward the drain zone, and whereinthe second field plate horizontally extends to over the second edgeplate in a direction oriented toward the lateral edge.